Swift To-Do List 7 Standard FREE today 2012-03-26 Only on BDJ

[wraith808]

http://www.bitsdujour.com/software/swift-to-do-list-7-standard/

I've seen some pretty good discounts- but never free.  And this is a pretty well-regarded to-do list software.  To upgrade to the more advanced versions is only the difference in prices.

Why he's doing it:

It's an experiment. We also want to have more users and raise awareness of our products. We also hope that many customers will eventually upgrade to Professional edition, as it has much more features and majority of our paying customers prefers it.

The difference in versions (from http://www.dextronet.com/product_editions/professional?product_id=55292310)

What's the difference between Standard and Professional?

The Professional edition has all the features of Standard edition and many extra.

• It allows you to easily email tasks to others or to yourself.
• Set Start Date and Completion Date for your tasks.
• Assign tasks using Assigned To field.
• Track your progress more precisely using Percent Done field and Status field.
• Use Time Estimate and Time Spent fields for easy time tracking.
• Context field helps you to better categorize your tasks.
• You can receive email reminders and recurrence notifications
• Inbuilt time tracker for your tasks (floating window)

The best part is: The Professional edition can automatically hide fields that you don't use - the program is always kept simple and clear. You decide which fields you want to use. (This is a unique feature not found in any other task manager).

[tranglos]

Free is good! But Dextronet has recently sent me this (I'm a registered user of the Pro version):

We've recently launched new Ultimate edition of Swift To-Do List. Compared to
Professional, it adds these new features:

1) 100 new tree icons (so there is no 244 in total in Ultimate!)
2) Two-line displaying of too long task names
3) Spellchecker for notes and memos
4) Multi-level numbered lists in notes and memos (outlines)
5) Other extra Ultimate-only features that will be added in the future as free Ultimate-only upgrades.

I started with the Standard version in 2007, later upgraded to Pro. That was already quite expensive. Now in a classic bait-and-switch, they are offering a new "Ultimate" version... which has more icons and a spell-checker and a promise... for $199.95 (regular price).

I've noticed I have been avoiding using Swift To-Do List, because of its agonizingly slow startup and general sluggishness while editing notes (.Net again!), un-backup-able database (while the app is running, and it should be running all the time) and its malicious splash screen, which always shows on the active monitor only to block your view for about 10 seconds. (IMO this is literally malicious, as in, the programmer had to expend some effort to make sure the splash screen always shows on the active screen, because every time I've launched the app I so want to look at it again, every time in the five years I've been using it. Can't disable the splash screen in program options. This is one of the things that make me wonder sometimes :-) Oh, and since a version a few months back it installs not in Program Files, but under Users/AppData, which is still wrong even if Chrome does this too.

Knowing what I know now, I'd get it for free, but I won't be giving Dextronet any more money in the future.

[wraith808]

because of its agonizingly slow startup and general sluggishness while editing notes (.Net again!)

No.  Developer issues.  This is not a general .NET problem.

[tranglos]

because of its agonizingly slow startup and general sluggishness while editing notes (.Net again!)

No.  Developer issues.  This is not a general .NET problem.

I will not swallow the bait... I will not swallow the bait.. I will not... :-)

[Dormouse]

I had a quick look, but couldn't see that it (any edition) did anything that AbstractSpoon's ToDoList doesn't do. There probably is something, and the cloud links aren't in ToDoList yet, but the advantages of free, open source and still rapidly developing are substantial.

I find it is always the look that leads me to look at alternatives, but when I try to use them, the way that ToDoList has everything in front of you is just so much more efficient than the progs that use a popup to add a new task.

[tranglos]

I had a quick look, but couldn't see that it (any edition) did anything that AbstractSpoon's ToDoList doesn't do. There probably is something, and the cloud links aren't in ToDoList yet, but the advantages of free, open source and still rapidly developing are substantial.

I suppose it's a matter of preference. One big difference is that ToDoList is a single-pane UI, perhaps more akin to MLO than Swift To-Do List. If you need a strong separation between your task categories (because they have nothing to do with each other), this particular interface may not be suitable.

To me though, this screenshot explains why I personally find ToDoList inconvenient:


Too many columns and fields I don't need, and the one truly important piece of data is obscured behind the horizontal scrollbar. It needs a screen that's half a mile wide. Horizontal scrolling is evil I say and should be banished. It can make the best apps unusable.

You can probably tame the columns and get the UI to where you can see more of the actual items, but the principle remains. And this is not the only example of the developers' inattention to detail. Here's another:


Lowest priorities at the top, highest at bottom. A pure WTF moment. As a work of art, it would make an unsubtle ironic statement, but as a practical everyday tool, it only makes me laugh sadly :-)

[TaoPhoenix]

I'm pretty old school when it comes to lists. I live by a mix of stickies, repurposed office calendars which become "pencil spreadsheets" and "task packets" paperclipped to cardboard backers, and notepads/journals.

[Dormouse]

If you need a strong separation between your task categories (because they have nothing to do with each other), this particular interface may not be suitable.

It's very easy to look only at items in the category (or categories) you want to look at - or alternatively to have separate areas in different tasklists. I do both; separate tasklists work well because you can have them all available on different tabs.

To me though, this screenshot explains why I personally find ToDoList inconvenient: (see attachment in previous post)
Too many columns and fields I don't need, and the one truly important piece of data is obscured behind the horizontal scrollbar. It needs a screen that's half a mile wide. Horizontal scrolling is evil I say and should be banished. It can make the best apps unusable.

You can probably tame the columns and get the UI to where you can see more of the actual items, but the principle remains.

Very easy to tame. You just select the columns you want to see/use in the preferences. The prog even invites you do do this when you set it up initially.

And this is not the only example of the developers' inattention to detail. Here's another: (see attachment in previous post)

Lowest priorities at the top, highest at bottom. A pure WTF moment. As a work of art, it would make an unsubtle ironic statement, but as a practical everyday tool, it only makes me laugh sadly :-)

Sad indeed - but you are mistaken in the way it usually works. Most people have the edit fields setup below the tasks which means that the high priority items are the shortest travel distance on the mouse, so for most people it is highly practical.[\quote]

I suppose it's a matter of preference. One big difference is that ToDoList is a single-pane UI, perhaps more akin to MLO than Swift To-Do List.

I find it much more comprehensive than MLO (which I also have), but the single pane UI does put a lot of people off (me included); OTOH, I find the single pane way of working much more efficient that all the others I've tried, so it is what I use. Multi-user support on a network is really useful too depending on your circumstances. I think this really is a matter of preference - or, in my case, gradually getting used to something that I don't prefer because it just works better.

[tomos]

Dextronet has recently sent me this (I'm a registered user of the Pro version):

We've recently launched new Ultimate edition of Swift To-Do List. Compared to
Professional, it adds these new features:

1) 100 new tree icons (so there is no 244 in total in Ultimate!)
2) Two-line displaying of too long task names
3) Spellchecker for notes and memos
4) Multi-level numbered lists in notes and memos (outlines)
5) Other extra Ultimate-only features that will be added in the future as free Ultimate-only upgrades.

I started with the Standard version in 2007, later upgraded to Pro. That was already quite expensive. Now in a classic bait-and-switch, they are offering a new "Ultimate" version... which has more icons and a spell-checker and a promise... for $199.95 (regular price).

seems very expensive to me, especially in the context of the pro version being demeaned.

[tranglos]

seems very expensive to me, especially in the context of the pro version being demeaned.

It's extremely expensive, and now those who shelled out for the Pro version are left hanging, as new features will go into the Ultimate version mostly. In a three-tier scheme like this, the top version is usually geared toward enterprise environments (multi-user database, security, advanced connectivity or various data exchange options, etc). But to add a spell-checker module (most likely just a third-party component) and some icons and call it "ultimate" is quite... wrong IMO.

[flamerz]

Im agree about its SLOW, but i searched alternatives with no luck.

Ill not buy the ultimate version.. too much money for some icons (i dont need spellcheck)  

[berry]

Announcing NoteFrog Professional Platinum Ultimate Universe Galaxy Lifetime Forever introductory offer only $399

[rgdot]

Announcing NoteFrog Professional Platinum Ultimate Universe Galaxy Lifetime Forever introductory offer only $399

For a limited time only

What's new in this release:

Will know your notes without you typing them
Keyboard was working, fixed

[berry]

What's new in this release:

Will know your notes without you typing them
Keyboard was working, fixed

[Steven Avery]

Hi,

It's extremely expensive, and now those who shelled out for the Pro version are left hanging, as new features will go into the Ultimate version mostly. In a three-tier scheme like this, the top version is usually geared toward enterprise environments (multi-user database, security, advanced connectivity or various data exchange options, etc). But to add a spell-checker module (most likely just a third-party component) and some icons and call it "ultimate" is quite... wrong IMO.

It's a good program, I have the professional from a previous Bits, but this setup is tacky.  

Remember ,we are not talking a massive system, it is just a ToDo list.

Ultimate ????

I think I will place a post about this on Bits.

Steven

[Curt]

dextronet is repeating the upgrade offer they also gave via Bits du Jour:

The price is plus VAT.

Hi ,

You are currently using the Standard edition of Swift To-Do List, but today,
you can upgrade to Swift To-Do List 7 Professional with a big 50% discount!
Instead of paying the full price of $89.95, you can get it just for $45.

Click here to purchase the upgrade:

http://go.dextronet.com/to-pro

[tomos]

dextronet is repeating the upgrade offer they also gave via Bits du Jour:

just to remind any trigger happy purchasers of the possible cons to this purchase:

seems very expensive to me, especially in the context of the pro version being demeaned.

It's extremely expensive, and now those who shelled out for the Pro version are left hanging, as new features will go into the Ultimate version mostly. In a three-tier scheme like this, the top version is usually geared toward enterprise environments (multi-user database, security, advanced connectivity or various data exchange options, etc). But to add a spell-checker module (most likely just a third-party component) and some icons and call it "ultimate" is quite... wrong IMO.

[Steven Avery]

Hi,

It looks like Jiri is trying to limit the damage:

"Jiri Novotny:
The Ultimate edition includes mainly "premium" features compared to Professional. You don't need them: 100 extra tree icons, spellchecker, two-line displaying of tasks, etc. Even in the future, the Ultimate-only features will be mainly features like this, eye-candy, etc. Everything truly important is in Professional - and always will."

However, I'm pretty sure that earlier (not running back to check) he said that new development, new features, would be mostly Premium.  

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, we can say that he realizes that some of his user base is not happy with the way the 3-tier is implemented, and is awkwardly trying to limit the damage.

The irony here is that Dextronet could easily raise revenue by normal "new releases", since they are not in a "lifetime" type of model.  And satisfied users would gladly pay, I believe, a $25 upgrade fee if there was real new value, every 12-24 months.  So he did not have to try for the gold with the premium, which only works to demean a moderately pricey pro license.

On top of that Jiri is planning some type of sync-server thing which is supposed to be subscription.  So the whole thing was quite unnecessary.  Any ultimate edition (as Tomos points out) should have involved network, server, enterprise and/or sync, encryption, maybe fancy import-export, not basic functions (spell-check, calendar) or eye-candy.

Steven

[Innuendo]

It looks like Jiri is trying to limit the damage:

"Jiri Novotny:
The Ultimate edition includes mainly "premium" features compared to Professional. You don't need them: 100 extra tree icons, spellchecker, two-line displaying of tasks, etc. Even in the future, the Ultimate-only features will be mainly features like this, eye-candy, etc. Everything truly important is in Professional - and always will."

While those are noble words from Mr. Novotny, his pricing structure does not bear out his words. If everything "truly important" is in Professional then why in the world are people going to pay the $110 for the, by default, 'non-important' features in Ultimate?

It does not make sense.

[concatenator]

I like the program, but as you say, it makes sense to have all the important features in the Pro version, since most people have that (and they were promised on earlier Bits threads) but I wonder what features could then be included which would really justify the big price difference for Ultimate?

[urlwolf]

I've tried many todo list programs, and swift would rank at the bottom, sorry to say. But again, I have reverted to paper

[Curt]

You are currently using the Standard edition of Swift To-Do List, but today, you can upgrade to Swift To-Do List 7 Professional with a big 50% discount! Instead of paying the full price of $89.95, you can get it just for $45.

Right now Standard users are being offered the upgrade to PRO for merely $30
"hush, hush, this is a secret just for you" he said.

[wraith808]

Well, the hush hush is because of the other part in the e-mail... which is something I didn't know.

[Steven Avery]

Hi,

Got an announcement about a calendar feature being added.  Didn't download, but it sounds like it is in the Pro.  Which would mean, so far, Jiri is getting the msg.

Shalom,
Steven

[tranglos]

Hi,

Got an announcement about a calendar feature being added.  Didn't download, but it sounds like it is in the Pro.  Which would mean, so far, Jiri is getting the msg.

The email reads in part:

(description of the calendar feature, ending with...)

The calendar panel is collapsible and located below the to-do list tree. It is
dead-simple and joy to use.

It truly brings Swift To-Do List to whole new level.

And by the way, our records indicate that you are currently using the
Professional edition.

Have you considered upgrading to the Ultimate edition?

I took it to mean the calendar is in the Ultimate version only - it does give that impression, doesn't it? But indeed, it's available in Professional:

http://www.dextronet.com/swift-to-do-list-software/editions